Aww u guyz! Poor Marcia Walden just can’t catch a break. After being terminated from her counselor post at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Georgia for refusing to treat a lesbian employee who wanted advice on her same-sex relationship, Walden wants a federal court to let her discrimination suit against her former employer to move forward. See, Walden has these things called “strong Christian beliefs,” and not the ones that demand the devout to love thy neighbor, or treat them with respect or any such nonsense, but the ones that demonize gay people and treat their sexuality as a sickness. So back in 2007, instead of working with the lesbian CDC worker, Walden referred the woman to another counselor who worked at Computer Sciences Corporation, which was contracted by the CDC to provide employee counseling services. The woman filed a complaint and, a whopping two years later, Walden was let go after refusing a request from her supervisors that, rather than telling gay and lesbian clients that she had religious views in conflict with their sexuality, she tell them she didn’t have the proper experience. According to her contract Walden and others were allowed to refuse clients based on religious beliefs, but not do so in a way that “would cause potentially serious damage”; the CDC determined Walden did cause damage, and had Computer Sciences Corporation terminate her from its contract. (As WorldNetDaily put it in 2008, Walden was fired for “trying to help” the lesbian woman.) As you’d expect, Walden is backed by the Alliance Defense Fund, and the video above is produced by the Family Research Council, which has sympathy for the poor girl. And we all know, but Tony Perkins reminds us in the video, the passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act would only further discriminate against good Christians.
on the job
Why Couldn’t CDC Counselor Marcia Walden Say Her Christianity Blocked Her From Counseling A Gross Lez?
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Kev C
Blame religion. It makes people get fired for not doing their job. Maybe Jesus will pay her for being a whiney martyr. Waaa Waaa Waaa, the homosexual government is crucifying me. Waaaaaa!
B
My guess, given that the FRC is the source of this propaganda video, is that there is more to the story.
She could have referred a client to a different counselor while telling the client that she didn’t have the right background to be as helpful as she should but that another counselor could help. A term like “background” is ambiguous – it could refer to her professional experience or training but could also refer to her religious background, and being ambiguous would not be lying.
She certainly didn’t have to go around telling clients that she didn’t want to help them because of her religious beliefs (implying there was something seriously wrong with the clients). Is that what she was doing? QUEERTY’s comment seems to imply that although the video gives the opposite impression.
I can’t see her being fired merely for sometimes (and in rare cases) telling a client that a different counselor had more experience with the client’s issue and could do a much better job of helping the client.
Shannon1981
When will people learn that if they work in public domain, no matter personal beliefs, they CANNOT DISCRIMINATE? They won’t, and they will keep getting fired. Keep it in church, folks. Nobody gives a damn what you believe, but when you push it on others, there will always be a problem, and rightfully so.
Shannon1981
oops, sorry html fail
TheMadHater
@Shannon1981: I agree with you Shannon
Ken
Reminds me of why Anne Rice announced in June of last year that in order to follow Christ she had to quit Christianity, saying, “Today I quit being a Christian. I’m out. I remain committed to Christ as always but not to being “Christian” or to being part of Christianity. It’s simply impossible for me to “belong” to this quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group. For ten years, I’ve tried. I’ve failed. I’m an outsider. My conscience will allow nothing else. I refuse to be anti-gay. I refuse to be anti-feminist. I refuse to be anti-artificial birth control. I refuse to be anti-Democrat. I refuse to be anti-secular humanism. I refuse to be anti-science. I refuse to be anti-life. In the name of Christ, I quit Christianity and being Christian. Amen.”
Or more recently, one is reminded of Rob Bell’s comment about Christians today, “In our culture Christians are known for a number of other things. … Rarely do you hear people say, ‘Oh yeah, those are the people who never stop talking about love. Oh a Christian church – that’s where you go if feel beaten down and kicked and someone has their boot on your neck. You go there because it’s a place of healing and a place of love.’ ”
It is people like Marcia Walden who give Christ a bad name.
gregger
Jesus, save me from your followers…..
Shannon1981
@TheMadHater: Thanks bb. I really hope she doesn’t get anywhere with this. Considering the fact that the Family Research Council is behind this propoganda, she ought not to. The Southern Poverty Law Center has certified them a hate group.
@Ken: I knew I loved Anne Rice for a reason. Now have way more reasons.
lemon-lime
@Ken: Anne Rice is a very cool person. She’s still a devout follower of Christ, but she recognises that (she’s sort of conflating Christian and Catholic in her case, but it’s almost a moot point anyway…) sometimes the cultural construct doesn’t match up with the spiritual path you’ve chosen. In those cases, it’s the cultural construct that has to go, if you’re truly serious about your faith. I think she is.
As for this lady… Anyone who can’t keep their religious convictions from restricting their ability to do their jobs for anyone that seeks help from them shouldn’t be doing that job in the first place. The thing is, she did the right thing. She wasn’t the right person to counsel that woman, but she went about it in the wrong way. And *that’s* why she got fired, not because of her religion. Not because they want to snuff her free speech rights.
TheRealAdam
Crazy nutter bitch got what she deserved. The fact that she actually mentioned that she tries to share “god” with her clients proves that she is an irresponsible, insensitive cunt. She clearly did not want to follow her supervisors’ directions about handling gays and lesbians because of her religious arrogance. That’s what this comes down to.
She’s sitting there crying like she’s a victim. Bitch, please! You shouldn’t be counseling. After an interview like that, you should be locked away in an asylum. You can talk to Jesus all you like there, all day long, and you won’t be “persecuted.”
Jeffree
If she were licensed as a counselor, she could lose that license due to the ethics code. Without said certification, she’s unable to practice as counselor without supervision.
She clearly would have known the ethical requirements of her chosen field before deciding to seek any job.
Trapdoor opens….
Buh-bye !
Kelly
I don’t see what she did wrong….
As a lesbian who grew up in a very christian environment, I think she handled this very well.
I would rather be referred to someone else than talk to someone who didn’t have their heart in it.
She had her client’s best interests in mind when referring her to another therapist that would do a better job.
Jeffree
@Kelly: The counselor reportedly didn’t just give the client a referral [which would be acceptable] but shared her religious views to the client as well. That’s unethical.
Any trained & licensed counselor should have had the expertise to handle relationships. That’s incompetence.
The client was not there for pastoral counseling. If Walden wanted a job doing religious based counseling, then she should have sought that in a church setting, not a secular agency.
Geoff B
@Jeffree: Both your posts nailed it perfectly.
Rog
Marcia, Marcia, Marcia… You f’d up, just give it up. You’re now at Coca Cola, not happy there? Alliance Defense Fund is using you as RW Martyr poster child to raise $$$ as “Discrimination for Religious Belief” and a twist of race since she is black. It’s a concerted RW effort amongst RW organizations going on here. Marcia is an idiot. Most people when presented with FACTS, can see through this sham.
The sane Francis
Really interesting to see how religious bigots honestly believe their chosen beliefs supersedes my communities’ basic humanity and rights. And they think we are the evil ones.
Someone should tell Ms. Walden that if you have a job, you have to, you know, do the job, or there are consequences. Guess that’s something she hasn’t quite grasped yet.
TheRealAdam
@The sane Francis: Oh, she’s grasped it. She just doesn’t want to follow the rules and keep her religious bs to herself. It’s more about her not wanting to accept the consequences of her actions and trying to claim that she was discriminated against, when she actively discriminated against one of her clients based on prejudice.
Alex
Lol at the footage of her making tea and picking up twigs. Guess God hasn’t gotten around to finding her a new job yet. Or maybe that’s his new career path for her?
Ruhlmann
“I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.” Gandhi
Personaly I think the Romans had the right idea.
Ruhlmann
“Man will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest.” Diderot
Sounds messy but if you want an omelet…..
sam
If all you homofascist bastards think that Marcia Walden shouldn’t be a counselor, that all of need to immigrate to Canada or Sweden. In America, we have freedom of religion, not freedom from religion. If Christianity hurts your feelings, suck it up.
lemon-lime
@sam: If your religion is keeping you from performing your day-to-day job or interacting with people who aren’t from your religion/value set, you’re doing it wrong.
This woman was fired for being a lazy dumbass with no sense of humanity, not for being a Christian.
If she wanted to counsel only Christians she should have gotten a job at a Christian counselling office.